Moonlit Beater
by SearingCinders
Summary: What if Kirito never hid his true level from 'The Moonlit Black Cats' guild? They know that he is a beater and they still let him into the guild. How will this change the guild's fate? Can Kirito save them this time around? NOT a KiritoxSachi story. The pairing will still be KiritoxAsuna.
1. The Black Cats of the Full Moon

**A/N: So my brother recommended that I watch the _Sword Art Online _anime show and I was instantly sucked in. I love the whole 'life or death' plot that exists throughout the story. I also really hated how all of the members of the guild "Black Cats of the Full Moon", or "Moonlit Black Cats" for short, died in the third episode. So, I wrote this story as a "what if they lived" kind of thing. Kirito does not hide his true level from them and they know from the start that he is a beater, so it changes how things lay out for them. Please enjoy.**

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Chapter 1: The Black Cats of the Full Moon

**April 8, 2023  
Floor 11: Taft**

"Here's to us, the Moonlit Black Cats!"

Kirito, along with five other players were at an inn, enjoying a drink. Just earlier that day, Kirito had saved the the members of the guild "The Black Cats of the Full Moon" although, all of them seemed to prefer shortening the guild name to "The Moonlit Black Cats". The guild had been exploring a labyrinth when they were ambushed by monsters. Tetsuo, a tall man with short brown hair wearing a purple long-sleeved shirt and silver armor plates, had been severely wounded and the rest of the guild was being overwhelmed.

Kirito heard the battle and ran to help, managing to guide the guild out of the labyrinth while holding back the on coming monsters, thus the guild invited him to have a drink at the inn on Taft (Floor 11).

"Cheers!" The guild members called together, clinking their glasses in the air.

One of the members, known as Ducker, turned to Kirito, holding his glass up. "And here's to Kirito-san, the man who saved our lives!"

"Cheers!"

Rounds of thanks poured out of the guild's mouths, all grateful that they had survived another day in this death game because of Kirito's help.

The guild's leader, a man by the name of Keita, leaned down towards Kirito. He had red colored hair and brown eyes, wearing a crimson shirt and armor identical to that of Tetsuo's. "Um, Kirito-san... I know this is really rude to ask, but what level are you?" he asked softly.

Kirito lowered his head, debating whether he should lie or not. Because he was a beta tester, he had a higher level then most of the other players. This caused him to be looked down upon, as most of the non-beta players considered him a cheater, hence the title 'beater' came about. It was suppose to be a combination of the two words 'beta' and 'cheater'.

In the end, Kirito decided against lying, knowing that if he did and the guild eventually found out about it, he would be looked down upon even more.

"...Level 40."

"What!?" All of the guild members exclaimed.

"How are you so high already?" Keita questioned.

"I... uh, I was a beta tester." he answered quietly. "I've been labeled as a beater."

The only female in the group, a girl named Sachi spoke up. She had shoulder length blue hair and eyes that almost matched her hair color. She aslo wore blue clothing and some light armor. "You're... you're that beater that everyone is talking about aren't you? The one that destroyed the first level's boss. They call you 'The Black Swordsman'."

Kirito smiled faintly. "Yeah, that's me."

"That's... that's awesome!" Keita exclaimed. "What would you think about joining our guild?"

Kirito's head snapped upwards and his eyes went wide in surprise. "You would want me in the Moonlit Black Cats despite the fact that I'm a beater? You know that other might look down on the guild because of me, right?"

"Why should we care?" Tetsuo asked. "We could use a strong player like you that can help us level up. You could also probably teach us higher skills. Once we reach your level of stats, we could become a powerful front line guild. Who cares what others say about us?" he explained.

Kirito looked down at the table again, clenching his hands tightly. "Okay. Then I will join, after all... Thanks."

The guild members' faces all lit up as they congratulated their newest member and toasted to the eventual end of the game.

"Let's all do our best!"

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**May 9, 2023  
Floor 20: Sunlit Forest**

At the moment, the guild was exp. farming in the forests of floor 20. While Kirito was level 40, the rest of the guild had much lower levels and needed to become stronger if they ever wanted to make it to the front lines. Keita was the highest out of the original guild members, currently level 27. Next came Tetsuo at level 26. Then Ducker, who was more of a treasure hunter then a fighter, but was still able to keep up with his friends' levels. He was level 24.

That left Sasamaru and Sachi, who were both at level 23. Sasamaru, or Sam for short, was a double handed sword user, but had problems when faced with multiple monsters. Sachi was afraid of most everything hostile, struggling to keep up with the rest of the group. Orignally, she was a mace user, but Keita wanted her to be able to use a sword and sheild, so Kirito was teaching her how to use the new equipment.

Kirito was instructing Sachi while the rest of the guild hung back to give room for them to work. Sachi once again squealed in fear and hid behind her shield as the monster attacked.

"Come on Sachi." Kirito called. "You have to be more aggressive."

The monster, an over-sized mantis, moved forward to attack again. Sachi dropped her shield.

"Get out of there!" Tetsuo yelled, but she was frozen in fear as the razor sharp leg swung at her.

With his high leveled speed, Kirito ran in-front of Sachi and used his sword to block the monster's attack. "Sasamaru, finish it!" he called out. While the other members of the guild used his shortened name, Kirito didn't feel like he had really proven himself enough to rightfully use it yet, so he stuck to the longer version. Said guild member nodded his head and used his double handed sword to decapitate the monster.

The mantis exploded into game shards and a level up message appeared in-front of Sam. "Yes!" he cried out in joy.

"Congrats Sam." Keita said, clapping his friend and fellow guild member on the back.

Sachi picked up her shield and looked shyly at Kirito. "Thanks for, you know, saving me."

Kirito looked down at her and smiled gently. "As long as I'm alive, I will not let a party or guild member die while I do nothing." he replied.

Sachi smiled and ran over to congratulate Sam. _'I have to find a way to help her get over her fears or else she'll never be able to fight in the front lines.' _Kirito thought.

"Hey Keita!" Kirito called. The guild leader turned and walked over to Kirito who was leaning on a tree.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Is there anything that could... help Sachi get over her fears. If she doesn't stop being scared of every monster we encounter then she'll never be able to fight on the front lines." Kirito explained.

"Hmm... Well there was this ring that she always wore back home. She said it was her late grandmother's and that whenever she felt scared she could look down at it and it would help reassure her that nothing bad would ever happen. Despite the fact that we look like our true selves, things like jewelery didn't come with us into the game." Keita explained.

"Can you describe the ring to me exactly, I need every detail." Kirito had a very serious look on his face.

"Why would you need that information?" Keita asked.

"I going to try my best to replicate the ring. If I can, maybe Sachi can use it the way that she uses the real ring back home. I might help her be braver when we fight monsters." Kirito knew he had to try, even if it didn't work.

"Okay, let me think. The ring was silver with an oval shaped sapphire in the center. Off the sides of the sapphire wound more metal that surrounded smaller, clear crystals, three on each side. On the right side of the ring, there was the word 'hope' in cursive letters and on the left side was the word 'trust'. The inside of the ring had an engraved message. It read 'Never give up even if the world looks dark'." Keita stopped for a moment. "I think that's it. I don't know if you'd be able to replicate it, but I think that you have a good idea to help Sachi. Good luck."

"Thank you, I'll be back in five days tops. Tell the rest of the guild not to worry." Kirito said, pulling out one of his own warp crystals.

"Will do. See you in a couple of days. I'll keep quiet about what you're doing. Now go, before the rest of the guild comes over here." Keita playfully pushed Kirito, successfully making the usually serious beater smile.

"Warp: Town of Beginnings." In a bright flash, Kirito had vanished.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter. If you didn't fully read the summary, this will NOT be a KiritoxSachi story. The pairing is still KiritoxAsuna, she will come in later. Please review, it is always helpful to hear my**** readers' opinions. I hope you'll come back for the next chapter. See you then.**


	2. Akuma No Inu

**A/N: Oh my gosh. Only a day after I posted the first chapter I had four reviews and fifteen followers. Thank you so much! Especially to my reviewers: The Unknown ShiniGami, Naturedrag, white willows, and Faliara. I'm so glad that this story is already attracting readers. This chapter will start with Kirito trying to get the ring made. I might also add in a bit of jealous Asuna. ;)**

**Thankfully I found my battle beta. Thanks to _white willows_, the battle scenes will be so much better, starting off with fixing the one in this chapter.**

**Please enjoy!**

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Chapter 2: Akuma No Inu

**May 9, 2023  
Floor 1: Town of Beginnings  
**

Kirito appeared in the plaza of the town, the area where Kayaba Akihiko announced that players couldn't log out until they beat the game, the place where this whole nightmare began. There were around two thousand players that chose to stay in the Town of Beginnings rather then go out and risk their lives. While it was probably the safer option, it didn't help with the fact that everyone wanted to get out and go home.

_How do these people ever expect to go home when they lay around all day, doing nothing productive. _Kirito thought. _I was a solo player before joining the Moonlit Black Cats, but even then I helped out with boss fights so that we could advance to the next floor._

Kirito pushed his negative thought away and started wandering around the market area, looking for a jewelery shop. For several hours he wandered the market, trying to find a jewelery stand that was not run by and NPC. While they were useful for basic purchases, NPCs couldn't make special order items.

The sun was setting by the time Kirito found what he needed. The shop was small, but had a wide range of player made products. Large weapons and shields lined the walls, while smaller weapons and jewelery were locked inside glass display counters. From behind a door in the back of the shop came a loud banging sound. _'Behind the door is probably the owner's workshop.' _Kirito thought, while taking a look around the shop. _'The owner must have a high level in blacksmithing and jewelery artistry to be able to create all of this stuff.'_

"Hello?" Kirito called. The banging noise coming from the back stopped and the back-room door opened to reveal a young woman with short, pink hair.

"Ah, welcome to Lisbeth's Metal Works. My name is Lisbeth, what can I get for you today?" The woman asked.

_'I don't think she really had to announce her name, although I guess it's a possibility that another player could work for her.' _Kirito thought. He walked up to the counter that Lisbeth was standing behind, leaning one arm on it. "Can you make a custom order ring for me?"

"Sure, I just need the design details, although I should warn you that custom orders can be expensive." Lisbeth said, pulling out a pencial and piece of paper from behind the counter.

Kirito made sure to explain every detail of the ring to her, not wanting to accidentally leave anything out. Just as he finished, the door burst open and in ran a woman with long brown hair, wearing a red and white outfit. She also had a rapier strapped to her waist.

"Lisbeth-san, I was wondering if you've seen a player with black clothing carrying a sword..." she stopped when she saw Kirito standing there. "...on his back. Well this makes things easier."

Kirito nodded his head at her, saying a quick "Hello, Asuna-san." before turning back to Lisbeth.

"Kirito-san, I've been looking for you..." he cut her off.

"Let me finish my business here, then we can talk." Asuna nodded and Kirito resumed his conversation with Lisbeth. "That's all the details, when should I come back to pick it up?"

"Uh, around three days." Lisbeth said, shooting glances between both Asuna and her customer. _'Do these two know each other?' _she thought. "I need to get the materials, can I get your name?"

"Kirito."

Lisbeth wrote on the paper some more. "Okay, Kirito-san. And, you'll have the money when you come to get it, correct?"

Kirito almost smirked. Being a solo player for a time allowed him to collect a lot of money. "Money is no problem, make it out of the highest grade material that you can."

"Got it. See you in three days." Lisbeth, turned and went into her workshop, leaving the room empty except for Kirito and Asuna.

Kirito turned to look at the woman behind him. "Let's go outside, then we can discuss whatever it is you need me for."

Asuna followed him out of the shop and up to the top of a small hill. Kirito stopped and looked at the large field that appeared on the other side of the hill. It was full of bright flowers, all waving slowly with the wind. The view made Asuna stop what she was doing and stare.

"It's a great view, isn't it?" Kirito asked, breaking the silence.

Asuna jumped, snapping out of her trance. "Yeah... but that's not what I was trying to find you for." she stated, getting back to her original intentions.

"Then what is the reason you were trying to find me?" the black clothed swordsman questioned her, still staring at the view below them.

"We've found the boss room of the 28th floor."

This caused Kirito to break away from the view and look at the woman beside him. "And...?"

"...and? And! Are you serious!" Asuna yelled. "We need your help in defeating the boss! You act like you don't want to go home!"

"Of course I want to get home, but there's no use in using every single moment of our time here in battle. You're allowed to relax, you know." Kirito replied with a grin on his face.

"You... you insufferable... ugh!" Asuna turned her back to him and started stomping back down the hill. "We'll be attacking in two days time. If you're going to help us, meet at the 28th's floor dungeon entrance." She called to him over her shoulder.

As she left, Kirito stood there thinking _'What did I do to make her so upset?'_

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**May 11, 2023  
Floor 28: Wolf Plains**

All of the lead parties and players were gathering in the Wolf Plains to prepare for the attack on the boss. The scouts that had been sent in said it resembled a giant canine and had red eyes.

Kirito appeared about an hour before the attack was set to begin. He had decided to join the forces because he still had a day to wait before the ring was finished, so why not help out. Asuna approached him as soon as he showed up.

"So, you decided to come after all." she stated.

"I never said I wouldn't come." Kirito countered. "Besides, when fighting bosses, we need all of the fighters we can get."

"At least you're right about something." Asuna crossed her arm over her chest. "Anyway, what were you doing at Lisbeth's shop yesterday, did you order a new sword?"

The change of topic caught Kirito off guard a little, but he quickly regained his composure. "No, I ordered a ring for one of the members of my guild. I think she'll like it."

Now it was Asuna's turn to be caught off guard. "Since when have you been apart of a guild?", _'and why are you ordering a ring for a girl?' _The first question came out before she could stop it, but luckily she managed to catch herself before asking the second one. _'Wait a minute, why do I care who Kirito-kun, I mean Kirito-san, likes. It's not like I have a thing for him? Do I? _Asuna mentally shook her head. _'Of course I don't have feelings for Kirito-kun. No Asuna! Stop calling him that, it's Kirito-san and that's all it will ever be.'_

Kirito, oblivious to Asuna's internal battle with herself answered with, "I joined a guild about a month ago. There's only five other members."

This snapped Asuna out of the confusing conversation in her mind. "Oh, and why aren't they here?"

"I had some business to take care of which is why you found me in the Town of Beginnings. I told them I would be back in five days at most. Not to metion the fact that they don't have high enough levels to fight with the front lines yet."

The two fighters were interrupted when a loud voice rang across the plains. "Okay, everyone. It's time to head in. Remember, do not rush our enemy, wait for the right moment to strike. We do not know it's fighting style, so be careful."

All of the players got up and walked as one into the dungeon, following the scouts to the boss room. The enemy's room itself was like an arena. Large and circular with torches lining the walls. As the last fighter entered the room, the doors snapped shut and out of the shadows on the far side of the room came a giant wolf-like creature. It had pitch black fur and eyes that stood out with a bright red. Above it was it's title and four bars of health.

**Akuma No Inu: Beast from Below**

The crowd of players split off into groups. Kirito ran by himself. He unsheathing his sword, running around, hoping to lock in on his blind spot. One group charged the canine head on. Shouting, they raised their swords and dug their blades into its foot all at once. They quickly yanked their swords from the flesh and started their retreat from the boss. The beast slashed at the players with long claws, grabbing one of the players and crushing him with it's jaws. Kirito's grip tightened around his sword's handle as he watched the cloud of game shards dissipate into nothing.

While Kirito was in no way happy that another player had died, the enemy's snacking gave him the chance to spot the monster's weak point. On it's neck was a small design that seemed to almost glow. He charged from the blind spot he had once stood. He saw its paw lower slightly and accepted the opportunity.

Leaping at the leg and digging his foot into the fur, Kirito pushed off and sent himself sprinting up the hairy limp. Charging his sword as he rushed at the venerable blemish.

Through all the pandemonium the hound's attention was turned in Kirito's direction. It lowered its neck, covering the weak point and making Kirito's attack almost no help to the battle. "Dammit!" he cursed as he dove his sword into the beast's ear. The creature growled and used it's giant paw to swipe at the swordsman.

Kirito flew across the room, slamming into the side wall. The impact sent his health plummeting into the yellow zone.

"Kirito-san!" Asuna yelled, concerned. _'Why does it feel different when I see him get hurt compared to the countless others that I've seen get wounded in battle?'_

"Asuna!" Kirito called. "Distract it, give me 5 seconds. I've got an idea."

The female fighter nodded and charged the beast. Kirito took the time to charge up energy in his sword, running toward the distracted beast and releasing the built up energy right onto the glowing spot below it's chin. The creature howled in pain as it's health decreased by a half bar. It slashed at the beater who just barely dodge each strike.

"Dame flea bag" he muttered to himself as his feet collided with the hard ground next to Asuna. With his health in the yellow and the height in which he had just, ever so gracefly, fell from, he knew it wouldn't be long before he needed to rest.

Kirito slowly rose to his feet, using his sword to steady him until the dizziness went away. He could hear others calling out to repeat what he just did and attack the circle. Eventually, Kirito was back to a fit state of mind to fight again. By then the large group of players had reduce it to less then a half bar of health. That was when the beast's attack pattern changed.

The canine did a fast spin, using it's tail to hit players with a strong attack. Three more people burst into shards, while everyone else near the attack was blown off their feet.

Kirito stumbled before planting his feet firmly on the ground and charging the monster. It slashed again and again trying to hit the swordsman, but Kirito expected the attacks and ducked and dashed out of its range just to come back up and stab he circle for the final time.

The canine exploded just like the fallen players had. A large "Congratulation's" appeared above the players' heads.

Kirito went to look at what he earned, but before he could he was grabbed by someone and pulled into a hug. The 'someone' turned out to be Asuna.

"You idiot." she said jokingly. She pulled away to see Kirito looked startled. "You may be an insufferable moron at times, but you're still a strong player who I would hate to lose in battle."

With that she walked away before he had a chance to see her face turn red. _'Why did I do that?' _Asuna asked herself. _'What in the whole programming of SAO caused me to do that?'_

_'What just happened?' _Kirito thought, turning back to his list of winnings. _'More money, experience points, and... a cloak of invisibility? That could be useful later.'_

All-in-all it was a successful battle with a small amount a casualties. Now they had the 29th floor to explore. _'The way things are going, we'll be out of here before we know it.'_

Kirito smiled and used a warp crystal to get out of the dungeon. _'Things are looking up.'_

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**A/N: So the battle scene has been improved. Again, _white willows _is my new battle beta, so the awesome scene was all thanks to her. I had the outline of this chapter laid out, so I was able to post it pretty fast. The following chapters will come out slower, but I will not abandon this story.**

**I've had a few concerns about Asuna's character. In the series she's rather... undefined. She is a strong and fast player, second in command of the Knights of Blood, and (eventually) loves Kirito. They don't really explain too much about her personality, so I'm putting my own input here. No, she will not always be thinking things like this, her thoughts in this chapter were more of a basis of her developing feelings for Kirito. Their actual relationship won't come for many more chapters.**

**Also, with Lisbeth's shop, I know that in the series her shop is on the 46th floor (or somewhere around there), but right now, that floor isn't even unlocked. I put her in the Town of Beginnings for now and later she will move up to where she was in the anime.**

**Third, I got a review commenting that the boss was too easily defeated, but you have to remember that they are only on the 28th floor, so the bosses haven't become quite so difficult yet. They will steadily get harder as the players advance, just like they would in the anime, even if we don't see most of the fights.**

**As for reviews, I once again thank those who did review for the first chapter. It would make me really happy if I had a total of ten reviews before third chapter goes up, but it's not like I can force you. Oh, and the boss's name was Japanese for 'Devil's Canine'. Thanks for reading. See you all next chapter.**


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